• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.323-331
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• 2019

The presence of defects in nature changes the physical parameters of the rock. In this paper, by studying the rock-like specimens with conjugated fractures, the horizontal angle and length are changed, and the physical parameters and failure modes of the specimens under uniaxial compression test are analyzed and compared with the results of simulation analysis. The experimental results show that the peak strength and failure mode of the rock-like specimens are closely related to the horizontal angle. When the horizontal angle is $45^{\circ}$, the maximum value is reached and the tensile failure mode is obtained. The fracture length affects the germination and propagation path of the cracks. It is of great significance to study the failure modes and mechanical properties of conjugated fracture rock-like specimens to guide the support of fractured rock on site.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.627-643
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• 2022

Water-rock interactions have a significant influence on the mechanical behavior of rocks. In this study, uniaxial compression and tension tests on different water-treated sandstone samples were conducted. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring and micro-pore structure detection were carried out. Water-rock interactions and their effects on rock mechanical behavior were discussed. The results indicate that water content significantly weakens rock mechanical strength. The sensitivity of the mechanical parameters to water treatment, from high to low, are Poisson ratio (𝜇), uniaxial tensile strength (UTS), uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), elastic modulus (E), and peak strain (𝜀). After water treatment, AE activities and the shear crack percentage are reduced, the angles between macro fractures and loading direction are minimized, the dynamic phenomenon during loading is weakened, and the failure mode changes from a mixed tensile-shear type to a tensile one. Due to the softening, lubrication, and water wedge effects in water-rock interactions, water content increases pore size, promotes crack development, and weakens micro-pore structures. Further damage of rocks in fractured and caved zones due to the water-rock interactions leads to an extra load on the adjoining coal and rock masses, which will increase the risk of dynamic disasters.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.613-624
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• 2022

A study of the evolution of overburden fractures under the solid-fluid coupling state was conducted based on the geological and mining characteristics of the coal seam depth, weak strata cementation, and high-intensity mining in the mining areas of West China. These mining characteristics are key to achieving water conservation during mining or establishing groundwater reservoirs in coal mines. Based on the engineering background of the Daliuta Coal Mine, a non-hydrophilic simulation material suitable for simulating the weakly cemented rock masses in this area was developed, and a physical simulation test was carried out using a water-sand gushing test system. The study explored the spatial distribution and dynamic evolution of the fractured zone in the mining overburden under the coupling of stress and seepage. The experimental results show that the mining overburden can be vertically divided into the overall migration zone, the fracture extension zone and the collapse zone; additionally, in the horizontal direction, the mining overburden can be divided into the primary fracture zone, periodic fracture zone, and stop-fracture zone. The scope of groundwater flow in the overburden gradually expands with the mining of coal seams. When a stable water inrush channel is formed, other areas no longer generate new channels, and the unstable water inrush channels gradually close. Finally, the primary fracture area becomes the main water inrush channel for coal mines. The numerical simulation results indicate that the overlying rock breaking above the middle of the mined-out area allows the formation of the water-conducting channel. The water body will flow into the fracture extension zone with the shortest path, resulting in the occurrence of water bursting accidents in the mining face. The experimental research results provide a theoretical basis for the implementation of water conservation mining or the establishment of groundwater reservoirs in western mining areas, and this theoretical basis has considerable application and promotion value.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.383-392
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• 2019

How to safely and economically dispose mining tailings is a challenge to mine operators. This paper presents an alternative upstream method for tailings dam construction, termed as the template construction method (TCM), which has been successfully implemented at Zhelamuqing tailings impoundment since 2004. By the beginning of 2015, the tailings dam wall had reached 95 m in height for the 46 upstream raises, with the total height of the dam including the starter dyke being 128 m. The proposed TCM is relatively simple and cost-effective and provides a good way for constructing rapidly raising tailings dam based on this case.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1153-1160
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• 2018

Rockbursts, catastrophic events involving the violent release of elastic energy stored in rock features, remain a worldwide challenge for geoengineering. Especially at deep-mining sites, rockbursts can occur in hard, high-stress, brittle rock zones, and the associated risk depends on such factors as mining activity and the stress on surrounding rocks. Rockbursts are often sudden and destructive, but there is still no unified standard for predicting them. Based on previous studies, a new Bayesian multi-index model was introduced to predict and evaluate rockbursts. In this method, the rock strength index, energy release index, and surrounding rock stress are the basic factors. Values from 18 rock samples were obtained, and the potential rockburst risks were evaluated. The rockburst tendencies of the samples were modelled using three existing methods. The results were compared with those obtained by the new Bayesian model, which was observed to predict rockbursts more effectively than the current methods.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.269-282
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• 2019

Due to top-coal and immediate roof as cushion layer connecting with support and overlying strata, it can make significant influence on strata behaviors in fully mechanical top-coal caving working face (TCCWF). Taking Qingdong 828 working face as engineering background, $FLAC^{3D}$ and $UDEC^{2D}$ were adopted to explore the influence of top-coal thickness (TCT), immediate roof thickness (IRT), top-coal elastic modulus (TCEM) and immediate roof elastic modulus (IREM) on the vertical stress and vertical subsidence of roof, caving distance, and support resistance. The results show that the maximum roof subsidence increases with the increase of TCT and IRT as well as the decrease of TCEM and IREM, which is totally opposite to vertical stress in roof-control distance. Moreover, although the increase of TCEM and IREM leading to the increase of peak value of abutment pressure, the position and distribution range have no significant change. Under the condition of initial weighting occurrence, support resistance has negative and positive relationship with physical parameters (e.g., TCT and IRT) and mechanical properties (e.g., TCEM and IREM), respectively.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.97-109
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• 2019

Physical conditions play vital role on the mechanical properties of frozen soil, especially for the temperature and moisture content of frozen soil. Subsequently, they influence the subsidence and stress law of permafrost layer. Taking Jiangcang No. 1 Coal Mine as engineering background, combined with laboratory experiment, field measurements and empirical formula to obtain the mechanical parameters of frozen soil, the thick plate mechanical model of permafrost was established to evaluate the safety of permafrost roof. At the same time, $FLAC^{3D}$ was used to study the influence of temperature and moisture content on the deformation and stress law of frozen soil layer. The results show that the failure tensile stress of frozen soil is larger than the maximum tensile stress of permafrost roof occurring in the process of mining. It indicates that the permafrost roof cannot collapse under the conditions of moisture content in the range from 20% to 27% as well as temperature in the range from $-35^{\circ}C$ to $-15^{\circ}C$. Moreover, the maximum subsidence of the upper and lower boundary of the overlying permafrost layer decreases with the increase of moisture content in the range of 15% to 27% or the decrease of temperature in the range of $-35^{\circ}C$ to $-15^{\circ}C$ if the temperature or moisture content keeps consistent with $-25^{\circ}C$ or 20%, respectively.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.463-475
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• 2022

In the mine exploitation stage; one of the critical issues is the stability assessment of post-pillars. The instability of post-pillars leads to serious safety hazards in mining operations. The focus of this study is to assess the stability of post-pillars in the 130# stope in the central ore body at Trepça hard rock mine by employing both conventional (i.e., critical span curve) and numerical methods (i.e., FLAC3D). Moreover, a new numerical based index (i.e., Pillar Yield Ratio-PYR) was proposed. The aim of PYR index is to determine a border line between stable, potentially unstable, and failure state of post-pillars at a specific mine site. The critical value of pillar width to height ratio is 2.5 for deep production stopes (e.g., > 800 m). Results showed that pillar size, mining height and mining depth significantly have affected the post-pillar stability. The reliability of numerical based index (i.e., PYR) is verified based on empirical underground pillar stability graph developed by Lunder, 1994. The proposed pillar yield ratio index and pillar stability graph can be used as a design tool in new mining areas at Trepça hard rock mine and for other situations with similar geotechnical conditions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.293-306
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• 2024

Influenced by the alternating effects of dynamic and static pressure during the mining process of close range coal seams, the surrounding rock support of cross mining roadway is difficult and the deformation mechanism is complex, which has become an important problem affecting the safe and efficient production of coal mines. The paper takes the inclined longwall mining of the 10304 working face of Zhongheng coal mine as the engineering background, analyzes the key strata fracture mechanism of the large inclined right-angle trapezoidal mining field, explores the stress distribution characteristics and transmission law of the surrounding rock of the roadway affected by the mining of the inclined coal seam, and proposes a segmented and hierarchical support method for the cross mining roadway affected by the mining of the close range coal seam group. The research results indicate that based on the derived expressions for shear and tensile fracture of key strata, the ultimate pushing distance and ultimate suspended area of a right angle trapezoidal mining area can be calculated and obtained. Within the cross mining section, along the horizontal direction of the coal wall of the working face, the peak shear stress is located near the middle of the boundary. The cracks on the floor of the cross mining roadway gradually develop in an elliptical funnel shape from the shallow to the deep. The dual coupling support system composed of active anchor rod support and passive U-shaped steel shed support proposed in this article achieves effective control of the stability of cross mining roadways, which achieves effective control of floor by coupling active support and preventive passive support to improve the strength of the surrounding rock itself. The research results are of great significance for guiding the layout, support control, and safe mining of cross mining roadways, and to some extent, can further enrich and improve the relevant theories of roof movement and control.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.429-437
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• 2018

In order to reduce deformation of roadway floor heave in deep underground soft rockmass, four support design patterns were analyzed using the Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC)3D, including the traditional bolting (Design 1), the bolting with the backbreak in floor (Design 2), the full anchorage bolting with the backbreak in floor (Design 3) and the full anchorage bolting with the bolt-grouting backbreak in floor (Design 4). Results show that the design pattern 4, the full anchorage bolting with the bolt-grouting backbreak in floor, was the best one to reduce the deformation and failure of the roadway, the floor deformation was reduced at 88.38% than the design 1, and these parameters, maximum vertical stress, maximum horizontal displacement and maximum horizontal stress, were greater than 1.69%, 5.96% and 9.97%. However, it was perfectly acceptable with the floor heave results. The optimized design pattern 4 provided a meaningful and reliable support for the roadway in deep underground coal mine.